Twins 5, A's 4: Alex Kirilloff Leads Twins to Sweep of Oakland

[Matt Braun]

Have you guys heard that a win is a win?

Image courtesy of © D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

 

Box Score
Joe Ryan: 5 ⅓ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Home Runs: Christian Vázquez (2), Alex Kirilloff (5)
Top 3 WPA: Alex Kirilloff (.453), Emilio Pagán (.204), Christian Vázquez (.185)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

The Twins—disappointing; lethargic—entered Sunday, the victors of the two first games of the second half. Oakland hadn't made it easy. The California tankers fought with vigor to win, challenging Minnesota in almost every inning the two teams played. Would the Twins earn a sweep to start the second half, or would the A's be too feisty to handle?

It was a homecoming of sorts for Joe Ryan. The Northern California native took the mound with plenty of supporters in the stands, rooting on the sterling pitcher in his breakout season. He was stellar early, working a six-pitch 1st to send the team on its way.

JP Sears is no slouch, however. Assuming Oakland's team lacks talent would be foolish; the 27-year-old lefty stood as Ryan's opponent on Saturday and was on his game.

Until Mark Kotsay took the ball from Sears' hand, the former Yankees farmhand was sharp, efficient. He diced through lefties and righties all the same, offering rising heaters, dying changeups, and sweepers that seemed to move from the Pacific to the Atlantic, all leading to 6 ⅓ quality innings with seven strikeouts.

But he wasn't perfect. Christian Vázquez startled his shutout effort in the 5th, hammering one of those fastballs out to right-center to give the Twins their first run. They only needed one more out to score again. Alex Kirilloff also caught a fastball—this one trickier, placed precisely on the outside corner—but powered it enough to reach the top of the wall, cutting Minnesota's deficit to one. 

About that deficit: Ryan wasn't himself. A sluggish splitter to Jordan Diaz cost him some ERA points in the 2nd, but the primary damage came in the fourth when Oakland shot the ball around the yard to plate two. You could tell Ryan's story in more than earned runs, though: he walked three batters for the first time since May 30th. 

It seemed, then, that the Twins would have trouble winning this game. With yet another lackluster start from their stud starting rotation and with the bats again flailing with wild abandon, Minnesota needed drastic action to take the lead.

They got it. Sears exited the game to a hero's appreciation, turning the ball over to Oakland's dreadful bullpen. A walk and an infield hit loaded the bases, sending Kirilloff to the plate. He delivered. A shot a ball down the left field line, allowing all three runners to come home safely as he trotted into third.

Minnesota failed to plate another run, but their lead was enough now. What would they need an extra gluttonous run for?

5-3 soon became 5-4. Jorge López smoothly ended the sixth with a first-pitch double-play lineout, but the seventh wasn't as kind. He walked a man, eventually giving him 2nd off a wild pitch. Then Zack Gelof plopped a ball between a galloping Kepler and a flailing Kirilloff, chopping off the all-important luxury run with one fortunate swing.

And so entered Jhoan Duran. He pitched on Friday and Saturday, but Rocco Baldelli decided to call upon his reliable workhorse for a third straight game. He had yet to do such a thing in his MLB career. He coaxed a grounder to start the inning, but Shea Langeliers smoked a double high off the right-center field wall. Jace Peterson flew out. Laboring, Duran fired without his usual control, and Tony Kemp lined one of his hanging splitters... directly into Willi Castro's glove to end the game. 

 

Notes:

Alex Kirilloff's 4 RBIs tied a single-game career-high; his previous 4 RBI outing was on April 30th, 2021 against the Royals.

Joe Ryan's seven strikeouts pushed his season total to 131, good for 8th in MLB. He is 21 strikeouts away from setting a single-season career-high.

Carlos Correa extended his on-base streak to 13 games. 

Christian Vázquez reached base three times for the first time since June 1st. 

Post-Game Interview:

 

What’s Next?

The Twins will extend their west coast trip, heading up I-5 to play the Mariners in Seattle. Sonny Gray will retake the mound he pitched on in the All-Star game; Logan Gilbert will pitch opposite of him and first pitch is at 8:40 PM. 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[jorgenswest]

Do the win this series without Emilio Pagán?

[Cozinator]

Why is Buxton batting third? Why is he batting at all? Maybe a stint on the IL would be good for him?

[USAFChief]

Pretty solid work from the pen this series. I'd call that the primary difference between the two teams this weekend. 

First sweep in Oakland since 1997. 

Nineteen. Ninety. Seven.

[rwilfong86]

Wasn’t pretty but we will take that 2.5 game lead in the central 

[Whitey333]

Good question.  Why is Buxton even in the lineup?  He's an automatic out.  If you have to have him in there why not further down the order?  Statistically we must have one of the poorest production from the DH position than anyone in baseball.  I'm glad we brought up Matt Wallner but why doesn't he play him at all.  Baldelli said today before the game that he doesn't have any at bats for him.  Really?? Wallner may not be THE answer but we aren't going to know that by having him sit on the bench.  Wallner should be at DH at least for now or get him in for Kepler once in a while.  Anybody is better than Buxton right now.  Get him out if there.  I feel sorry for some of our young, but not young anymore prospects who aren't given a fair chance to play.  It will be fun now to see how the team plays against najor league teams instead of AAA teams like Oakland and Kansas City.  Twins are 12-1 against Kansas city and Oakland and 36-45 against everyone else.

[DougMientkewicz]

Todays win was way better than yesterday. You should never lead the 2023 A's by 6 runs and need to score 8 to win

[CRF]

There's a lot to be said for winning ugly...and they said a mouthful this weekend.

[DougMientkewicz]

so nice to see Alex have a big game. I root for him more than anyone else. As for Buxton. Its clear that no offseason is going to make him healthy. He is what he is, so why not play him in CF 1-3 per week. Give him some value. I don't think he feels apart of things as a DH and at one point the best defender in baseball. Him not being in the lineup won't change results for the team. They should think about moving him purely as a salary dump. He is just wasting away at DH

[RpR]

Kansas City stomped Tampa Bay today, do not disregard these victories as gimmes.

[stringer bell]

Two big hits for AK, the oppo double bigger than the homer. They come at a key time for Kirilloff—he could lose playing time or maybe even his spot on the active roster if he continues to struggle. 

[chinmusic]

The Plouffe/Kirilloff home run call and acknowledgement was fun....

[HarmonK03]

13 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

 Two big hits for AK, the oppo double bigger than the homer. They come at a key time for Kirilloff—he could lose playing time or maybe even his spot on the active roster if he continues to struggle. 

Why would Kiriloff be at risk of losing his roster spot.  Who do they have that takes better at bat's.  Maybe they should try to give him consistent playing time.  Kepler can go up there and flail away and not ever worry about his playing time.  The way this team develops the young players is not very good.  Stop with the obsession with right/left splits and put your best 9 players which Kiriloff is one of.

[SwainZag]

3-0 since the season began.   Onward to Seattle.  Keep it up boys!

[IndianaTwin]

1 hour ago, jorgenswest said:

Do the win this series without Emilio Pagán?

I say, "No."

From the OP...

           "...Jorge López smoothly ended the sixth with a first-pitch double-play lineout, but the
           seventh wasn't as kind. He walked a man, eventually giving him 2nd off a wild
           pitch. Then Zack Gelof plopped a ball between a galloping Kepler and a flailing Kirilloff,
           chopping off the all-important luxury run with one fortunate swing.

           "And so entered Jhoan Duran. He pitched on Friday and Saturday, but Rocco Baldelli 
           decided to call upon his reliable workhorse for a third straight game." 

Missing is that Pagan cleaned up the mini-mess Lopez was in and pitched a spotless eighth. 

He also picked up Maeda in Friday night's game, with a walk and a whiff in 1.2 innings. It could be argued that he was the most outstanding member of an outstanding bullpen over the weekend 

 

[RpR]

13 minutes ago, karcherd said:

Why would Kiriloff be at risk of losing his roster spot.  Who do they have that takes better at bat's.  Maybe they should try to give him consistent playing time.  Kepler can go up there and flail away and not ever worry about his playing time.  The way this team develops the young players is not very good.  Stop with the obsession with right/left splits and put your best 9 players which Kiriloff is one of.

One good game, over all, his numbers offense and defese are down  or not improving from where he once was.

He is not the best,

[stringer bell]

30 minutes ago, karcherd said:

Why would Kiriloff be at risk of losing his roster spot.  Who do they have that takes better at bat's.  Maybe they should try to give him consistent playing time.  Kepler can go up there and flail away and not ever worry about his playing time.  The way this team develops the young players is not very good.  Stop with the obsession with right/left splits and put your best 9 players which Kiriloff is one of.

I am as big a Kirilloff fan as anybody, but the production in June (.621 OPS) and so far in July (.649 OPS) isn't anything to write home about. Kepler and Gallo can't be optioned and finding a place for Julien needs to be done. If Alex hits like today, he'll keep playing, but if he keeps coming up with a low .600s OPS, he could be back in St. Paul. Kepler's OPS in June and July is better than AK's, and Gallo also has better numbers for the two months (coming into today).

[IndianaTwin]

To enumerate Chief's comment about the bullpen being the difference...

They went 13.0 innings with 7 hits and 3 walks (0.759 WHIP), giving up 2 runs (1.38 ERA) while striking out 11. I was on the radio, but I'm told one of hits, and thus one of the runs, was on a catchable ball.

 

[stringer bell]

The broadcasters were quick to give Willi a lot of love for his defense. I like his game, but the offense is ...........inconsistent. He is playing way more than anyone thought he would and he has provided a spark on the bases and played well in the field. 

[IndianaTwin]

And don't look now, but Correa's OPS+ is approaching 100. He's batting .367 from the leadoff spot since "The Meeting." 

 

PS: For those frustrated with Correa's year to date, you should hear my friend the White Sox fan talking about Tim Anderson: 

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of his last homer, though he's only played 85 games in that stretch because of injury.

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, Matt Braun said:

Then Zack Gelof plopped a ball between a galloping Kepler and a flailing Kirilloff, chopping off the all-important luxury run with one fortunate swing.

A sweep feels good. Hopefully they can reel off some more. A nice winning streak would do wonders for the players and fans. These are all major league teams with major league talent. A sweep feels good. 

On the part of the article that I have quoted. Kepler could have easily ran underneath that ball for an out. I don't know who was calling for it or if nobody was calling for it.

However, Kepler needs to take charge on that ball. Ball, Mine, I got it, Get Out are all sufficient commands that Kepler shouts to take charge. Kirilloff is going to keep after the ball unless a command is given. 

If Kirilloff is calling for it, it is Kepler's job to call him off and then it is Kirilloff's job to get out of the way to let the player coming in on the ball with an easier play make the catch. 

I don't know if Kirilloff wasn't listening to Kepler or if Kepler just let him handle it. But... I do know that there was 7 people in the stands so crowd noise shouldn't have been an issue and I do know that it cost us a run late in a close game. 

Unless I hear different... that was a lazy play by Kepler. 

 

 

[HarmonK03]

9 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I am as big a Kirilloff fan as anybody, but the production in June (.621 OPS) and so far in July (.649 OPS) isn't anything to write home about. Kepler and Gallo can't be optioned and finding a place for Julien needs to be done. If Alex hits like today, he'll keep playing, but if he keeps coming up with a low .600s OPS, he could be back in St. Paul. Kepler's OPS in June and July is better than AK's, and Gallo also has better numbers for the two months (coming into today).

[USAFChief]

4 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

A sweep feels good. Hopefully they can reel off some more. A nice winning streak would do wonders for the players and fans. These are all major league teams with major league talent. A sweep feels good. 

On the part of the article that I have quoted. Kepler could have easily ran underneath that ball for an out. I don't know who was calling for it or if nobody was calling for it.

However, Kepler needs to take charge on that ball. Ball, Mine, I got it, Get Out are all sufficient commands that Kepler shouts to take charge. Kirilloff is going to keep after the ball unless a command is given. 

If Kirilloff is calling for it, it is Kepler's job to call him off and then it is Kirilloff's job to get out of the way to let the player coming in on the ball with an easier play make the catch. 

I don't know if Kirilloff wasn't listening to Kepler or if Kepler just let him handle it. But... I do know that there was 7 people in the stands so crowd noise shouldn't have been an issue and I do know that it cost us a run late in a close game. 

Unless I hear different... that was a lazy play by Kepler. 

 

 

Concur. 

[HarmonK03]

13 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I am as big a Kirilloff fan as anybody, but the production in June (.621 OPS) and so far in July (.649 OPS) isn't anything to write home about. Kepler and Gallo can't be optioned and finding a place for Julien needs to be done. If Alex hits like today, he'll keep playing, but if he keeps coming up with a low .600s OPS, he could be back in St. Paul. Kepler's OPS in June and July is better than AK's, and Gallo also has better numbers for the two months (coming into today).

Give him consistent playing time and make a determination.  You can't make every player a platoon player.  Gallo has an OPS in the mid .600 the last two months.  So why would you continue giving at bats if you can get the same results from someone who has more of a potential future with the team.  We need more regular starters, you are not going win with platooning 6 positions, that implies those players are all equal in ability.  And that is not the case.

[USAFChief]

10 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

And don't look now, but Correa's OPS+ is approaching 100. He's batting .367 from the leadoff spot since "The Meeting." 

Well how am I supposed to not look now?? I mean, I can't NOT look now, ferpetesakes. 

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

Good question.  Why is Buxton even in the lineup?  He's an automatic out.  If you have to have him in there why not further down the order?  Statistically we must have one of the poorest production from the DH position than anyone in baseball.  I'm glad we brought up Matt Wallner but why doesn't he play him at all.  Baldelli said today before the game that he doesn't have any at bats for him.  Really?? Wallner may not be THE answer but we aren't going to know that by having him sit on the bench.  Wallner should be at DH at least for now or get him in for Kepler once in a while.  Anybody is better than Buxton right now.  Get him out if there.  I feel sorry for some of our young, but not young anymore prospects who aren't given a fair chance to play.  It will be fun now to see how the team plays against najor league teams instead of AAA teams like Oakland and Kansas City.  Twins are 12-1 against Kansas city and Oakland and 36-45 against everyone else.

MLB has Buxton number 9 among DHs with qualifying ABs.  But there are not very many full time DHs most are shared times at DH. 

[Riverbrian]

6 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Concur. 

Who gets the zone rating punishment on that double to the first baseman? 

 

[weitz41]

I know most of us are down on the team. But 50/49 runs or 50/3 runs, a sweep is a sweep. Be happy about it for god's sake. Oakland actually has won 25 games including a few series against our AL central rivals.  They've helped this team so far more then they have hurt it. Thx Oakland see you in the TC. Struggling Seatle next let's keep it that way.

[jmlease1]

"I looooove winning, man! You know? Like, it beats losing?!?"

Was hoping for a better/longer start from Ryan, but looks like the all-star break did him no favors either. All of our starters in this series looked a bit rusty.

Got a bit wobbly at the end, but the bullpen got it done again. I'm thinking we don't see Duran for at least one game and probably two. Hopefully the starters get back to business and the offense makes it completely unneeded.

Nice to see Kirilloff have a good game. I still think he's very talented and with as good a swing as anyone in the Twins organization, so it's good to see him carry the club today

[jkcarew]

When Meatloaf sang it, he had not yet seen the 2023 Oakland A’s.

Two out of three against Oakland IS bad.

Nothing to see here beyond serve held.